Logan County jail escape caught in Booneville PARIS (AP) — Logan County Sheriff Steve Smith says an inmate who escaped the county jail has been recaptured in Booneville. Smith told the Times Record that Gary Patrick Topham, 49, of Magazine was caught about 10 a.m. Thursday by authorities investigating reports that he was seen on a street in Booneville. Authorities have said Topham escaped shortly after noon Monday by climbing a chain-link fence that’s topped with razor wire. Topham was be...

Lottery ex-official gets 37-month sentenceLITTLE ROCK (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a former Arkansas lottery security official to three years and a month in prison for stealing and cashing almost a half million dollars’ worth of scratch-off tickets. U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright also ordered former deputy security director Remmele Mazyck to pay more than $482,000 in restitution. In court in Little Rock, Mazyck apologized for his actions after his mother asked...

Prosecutor to review accidental shootingInformation from a Saturday incident in which police stated a man was accidentally shot by his child in the Walmart parking lot has been turned over to the prosecuting attorney. Fifth Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney David Gibbons said the report has not yet been reviewed by his office. The typical process when reports are submitted to his office is for either himself or a deputy prosecutor to review the file and determine if there is en...

Bond Hearings (Nov. 7, 2013)The following individuals appeared in felony bond hearings Wednesday at the Pope County Detention Center. Their names, ages, anticipated charges and bond amounts are listed. They will appear Dec. 2 in Circuit Court. • Matthew Peacock, 22, robbery and forgery — $10,000. Charges were filed against Peacock on Oct. 16 related to two separate instances. On June 15, a woman stated she was in the parking lot of a grocery store, putting her merchandis...

AG announces human trafficking task forceLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel said Wednesday that he has established a statewide task force aimed at preventing human trafficking. McDaniel announced the creation of the task force during a news conference in Little Rock, where he stood alongside some of the state lawmakers who have sponsored legislation to help Arkansas combat human trafficking. The State Task Force for the Prevention of Human Trafficking is mad...

Fort Smith man pleads guilty to killing his aunt FORT SMITH (AP) — A Fort Smith man has pleaded guilty in the shooting death of his aunt and been sentenced to 40 years in prison. The Times Record reported 19-year-old Dustin Trowbridge entered the plea Wednesday in Sebastian County Circuit Court and was sentenced for the February death of 25-year-old Rita Jackalynne Anderson. Trowbridge entered the plea as part of a deal in which the charge was reduced from first-degree murder and a theft cha...

4 busted in alleged ATV theft ringAMITY (AP) — Authorities in southwestern Arkansas say they have broken up an alleged all-terrain vehicle theft ring. Police say five ATVs stolen in Howard County were recovered, as well as an assortment of parts, wheels and tires. Howard County Sheriff Butch Morris says a man whose ATV was stolen saw someone riding it Saturday at the Hillarosa Mud Bog in Hempstead County. The sheriff said the man tried to take back the vehicle but the rider le...

No arrest made in RMS threatsNo arrests were made as of Tuesday in connection with online threats of gun violence and bombs at Russellville Middle School (RMS). Over the weekend, someone using the name Rms Gosip Girl, on the social media site ask.fm, allegedly threatened several RMS students with gun violence. A parent notified the district of the threats causing them to increase security at the school. Some of Rms Gosip Girl’s posts over the weekend included: “u still do...

NJ mall shooting baffles relatives of gunman TEANECK, N.J. (AP) — Relatives and friends of a young man who fired shots in New Jersey’s largest mall, trapping terrified shoppers for hours before killing himself, struggled Tuesday to reconcile those actions with a person they described as pleasant and well-liked. Investigators don’t believe the gunman, identified as 20-year-old Richard Shoop, intended to shoot anyone when he began firing at the ceiling and elsewhere at the Garden State Pla...

In boyfriend’s death, defense wants statements out CONWAY (AP) — Lawyers for a woman charged in Faulkner County in the death of her boyfriend want a judge to bar statements she made to police from being repeated before a jury. The defense argued in a written motion that Jamie Lynn Leach of Quitman was coerced into speaking to an investigator after the Aug. 20, 2012, slaying. The Log Cabin Democrat reported Leach was arrested later the same day. He is charged with first-degree murder in the dea...

Bond set for rape, porn suspectA Russellville man was ordered held in lieu of $100,000 bond on Monday on suspicion of two counts of rape and possession of child pornography. Nathan Hampton, 39, was arrested Saturday after police responded to a call from a man claiming Hampton “had done something inappropriate to his children and he was going to do something about it,” according to a police report. Officers made contact with the man and the mother of the alleged victims, bot...

On the beat (Nov. 3, 2013)Oct. 30 — Stop sign violation on West Parkway Drive. An officer noticed a vehicle fail to stop at a stop sign on North Joplin Avenue while turning onto Parkway Drive. The officer initiated a traffic stop and was informed by the female driver that her driver’s license was suspended for DWI. The officer informed the suspect she was under arrest, and she became argumentative. She began begging the officer not to arrest her because she had to pick...

Bond hearings (Nov. 2, 2013)The following individuals appeared in felony bond hearings Friday at the Pope County Detention Center. Their names, ages, anticipated charges and bond amounts are listed. If charged, they will appear Nov. 18 in Circuit Court. • Cypress Tucker-Wacnholz, 23, possession of a controlled substance with purpose to deliver — $50,000. • Jason Mohon, 37, possession of a controlled substance with purpose to deliver — $50,000. Mohon and Tucker, both of S...

Georgia police: 10-year-old’s body found in trash can LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (AP) — The father and stepmother of a 10-year-old girl whose body was found in a trash can at a metro Atlanta apartment complex have been charged with murder. Gwinnett County police said in a statement that a man called 911 at 3:43 a.m. Saturday and said he was suicidal. He also said his daughter drank some type of chemical and was dead. The man pointed officers responding to the call to a trash can at the complex, where the...

Graves vandalized at Jonesboro historic cemetery JONESBORO (AP) — Police in Jonesboro are investigating vandalism at an historic cemetery. Authorities say more than 20 headstones were knocked over at the Jonesboro Cemetery on East Matthews Avenue. Graves at the burying ground go as far back as 1815. Police say some of the headstones were broken by the vandals. The Jonesboro Sun reported many of the headstones were weathered and broken. But police said new damage was obvious because fresh dir...

2 wounded in family shooting in Little Rock LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Police in Little Rock say a man opened fire during a family dispute and wounded his mother and grandfather. Authorities say the grandfather, 76-year-old James Bledsoe, was gravely wounded early Saturday and was being treated at St. Vincent Health System. The suspect’s mother, 45-year-old Jacqueline Bledsoe, was taken to Baptist Health for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. Police say the suspect, 25-year-old Justin ...

LAX suspect set out to kill multiple TSA officers LOS ANGELES (AP) — The unemployed motorcycle mechanic suspected in the deadly shooting at the Los Angeles airport set out to kill multiple employees of the Transportation Security Administration and hoped the attack would “instill fear in their traitorous minds,” authorities said Saturday. Paul Ciancia was so determined to take lives that, after shooting a TSA officer and going up an escalator, he turned back to see the officer move and return...

Court grants new hearing for death row inmateLITTLE ROCK (AP) — An Arkansas prisoner who was condemned to die for the 1997 rape and murder of a mall security guard won a new hearing Thursday. The state Supreme Court ordered a new hearing for Andrew Engram because it said a lower court erred in dismissing his petition for post-conviction relief. “Under the facts and circumstances of this case, and considering the finality of punishment at issue, we hold that the circuit court erred in sum...